Breakdown
by Hysterical Ink
Summary: "His face seemed frozen in a look of horror. His arms looked skinnier, almost frail. His body was unmoving. At a glance, he seemed lifeless. He was slipping away, almost gone..."


**Breakdown**

**Disclaimer: Poor me. I own nada. :P**

No. This couldn't be him. This wasn't the man she loved. It wasn't Ben.

The man lying here was different. His face seemed frozen in a look of horror. His arms looked skinnier, almost frail. His body was unmoving. At a glance, he seemed lifeless. He was slipping away, almost gone.

Annie shook her head, as if she was physically trying to suppress the terrible thought. She couldn't think about that. Annie had to focus on his shallow breathing, the faint rise and fall of his chest. She had to remember that he was alive. Just barely.

'How could this happen?' She thought to herself. After seeing the helicopter, she assumed everything would be alright. Her happily ever after was so close, she could almost touch it with her fingertips. And suddenly it was violently ripped from her grasp.

Annie just couldn't wrap her head around it. How could such a small object change her life forever? How could a mere piece of metal tear her happiness to shreds? It was unbelieveable that a bullet could do so much.

A bullet could kill Ben Mercer.

Annie hoped and hoped it wasn't true, but she had a sinking feeling that the wound was fatal. She just couldn't believe it, but at the same time she accepted it as a fact.

Someone had killed Ben Mercer.

As the words registered in her mind, a single tear rolled down her cheek. After all the endless tears she cried after he left her, this was the most meaningful. Those tears seemed petty now. It felt silly to cry over Ben's disappearance after learning that he had never stopped loving her.

But this tear, this single tear was the beginning of the end. It was the tear that symbolized Ben's death. She was going to have to accept it, and live through it. But Annie was sure many tears would be shed before she could overcome this.

***~x~*~x~*~x~***

_Beeeeeep._

The sound wouldn't go away. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get that incessant noise out of her head.

That terrible sound of his heart stopping. The apathetic voices of the doctors declaring, "Flatline."

It was there, always there. It was haunting her, torturing her, reminding her. It revived the worst day of her life.

The day _he_ died. Annie couldn't even bear to think his name.

Ever since his death, Annie felt like she was merely shattered remains of what was once happiness. She was sitting in her sister's guest house, trying to forget.

_Knock knock._

Annie franticly tried to wipe the evidence off her face, but had no idea how to hide the salty aroma. She quickly paced to the bathroom, and spritzed her grapefruit perfume around the room. Then she sighed, realizing that Auggie was much too smart to fall for her perfume trick. Annie slowly walked to answer the door, defeated.

"Auggie, I told you that you didn't have to come. I'm fine." Annie said.

"Please Annie, don't lie to me." Auggie retorted. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows. "You're crying."

"Am not." Annie said firmly.

"You are too. By the way, the perfume doesn't completely cover it up." Auggie replied.

Annie pursed her lips in frustration. How could someone seem to know everything?

"It was worth a try. Do I get some points for effort?" Annie laughed. Unfortunately, the feeble sound wasn't fooling anyone. Her voice cracked and her throat was sore.

"Annie..." Auggie trailed off sympathetically.

"Annie screwed her eyes shut, and collapsed into Auggie's unsuspecting arms. Though surprised at first, he quickly switched into 'Comforting Annie Mode'.

As she was sobbing into his chest, Annie realized how out of character she was. Even though she often looked to Auggie for comfort, it never went this far. The waterworks were rare, and never, ever this terrible. She had never broken down like this before. She had built her walls for a reason, and after letting them down she was just too vulnerable.

Although, if anyone could help her make it through the meltdown, it was Auggie.

"Hey, come on. I know he's gone, but I'm here. I'll stay with you for as long as you need me." Auggie promised as he dried her salt stained cheek.

With his words came a rush of comfort. Annie knew that there was no one in the world that could help her get through this better than Auggie.

She was going to make it through this. All she needed was time, and her best friend by her side.

**A/N: So.. I wasn't in the best mood today, so the outcome wasn't the most cheerful fic. :P But on the other hand, I hope it was well written, and maybe even played on your emotions a little. **

**Constructive Criticism is always welcome. Honestly, productive flames are even fine by me. Although, that seems kind of like an oxymoron..**

**Anyways, I really hope you liked it. :)**

**Come on.**

**You know you want to.**

**Just do it.**

**Press the Button! :D**

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